Is our 1971 Chevy Chevelle the cheapest muscle car deal ever?
Buying Our Dream Muscle Car
In our opinion, the 1970 LS6 Chevelle SS is the peak of GM’s muscle car production. It made 450 horsepower (the highest factory rating at the time) and ran sub-14 second ETs at over 100 mph.
Today if you can even find an LS6 Chevelle, you may be paying 6 figures for it.
Our 1971 Chevelle is the farthest thing from that legendary car. Depending on who you ask, it’s not even really a muscle car. It has a 250ci inline 6 making 145 horsepower (sadly the base 307 v-8 only made 140) and a 2 speed powerglide transmission.
How Do You Make the Cheapest Chevelle More Fun?
The inline 6 and rusty body didn’t keep us from having fun with our Chevelle. We replaced the transmission lines, put new wheel cylinders all around, slapped a pontiac 301 turbo setup on top, and then put on some of biggest wheels and tires we could fit and cruised. You’ll see more about all this in future videos on youtube (please subscribe!).
We’ve taken our Chevelle everywhere too. In the time we’ve had it we have:
- Entered in the $3k hooptie challenge at Roadkill Zip Tie drags
- Bought lots of parts that we’ve never put on (new floors and sheet metal…someday we’ll get around to fixing all the rust).
- Took it drag racing (it’s really slow).
- Drove over 3,000 miles round trip to make the long haul on Hot Rod Power Tour in 2019, and we’re planning on doing it again.
- Drove it on track at Martinsville Speedway (where the youtube thumbnail was taken).
- Actually won an award at a car show (it was kind of a participation trophy, but still…)
So how much did our Chevelle actually cost? You’ll have to watch the whole video to find out.
